Press Release
Friday, 2 June 2006
The Rafto Foundation

Kadeer's children must be released, and their freedom and safety must be guaranteed.

The Rafto Foundation is deeply concerned by reports that authorities in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) have beaten two sons of Rafto Laureate Rebiya Kadeer and are intimidating other relatives of the exiled Uighur leader:

Ablikim Abdiriyim, Uighur, male, 32
Alim Abdiriyim, Uighur, male 30
Rushangul Abdiriyim, Uighur, female, 36
Razia, Uighur, female 15
Sardar Kaysar, Uighur, male 9
Epar Alim, Uighur, female 4
Turghun, Uighur, male 8
Kaysar, Uighur, make approx 38
Rayila, Uighur, female 24

When Rebiya Kadeer visited Norway in October last year, she stated that she had reached a conclusion: the plight and sufferings her people, the Uighurs are exposed to by Chinese authorities were more important then the safety of herself and her family.

The Chinese authorities are currently punishing Kadeers children and grand-children because she is spreading awareness of the oppression against the Uighurs in East Turkestan, officially called Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) by the Chinese.

Rebiya Kadeer’s family is kept under constant surveillance and subjected to harassment by Chinese police. This has been going on since 1999, when Rebiya Kadeer was arrested, but conditions have deteriorated since her release and exile in the US in March last year.

In 2005, Chinese Police formed a special unit dedicated to the investigating and surveillance of Rebiya Kadeer’s family and business-associates.

Police have on several occasions threatened Rebiya Kadeer’s children with the consequences of failure to cooperate: both the family and Kadeer’s business would be destroyed.

Chinese Police raided offices and impounded documents from Rebiya Kadeer’s business in May last year. They are now trying to fabricate prove of tax-fraud. This is done to discredit Kadeer professionally as well as personally.

-We call upon the Norwegian government to raise our concerns with high level Chinese Government officials and strongly urge them to investigate these reports and to release Ms. Kadeer’s children, if they are under any form of detention, and ask for a guarantee for their freedom and security, says Arne Lynngård, Chairman of the Rafto Foundation.

Finally, Mr. Lynngård states that the Norwegian Human Rights delegation leaving for Xinjiang and China on June 3^rd, should request for a meeting with Kadeer’s family in Urumqi.

For more information please contact Chairman of the Rafto Foundation Mr. Arne Lynngård,
phone: +47 951 52 290.

www.rafto.no